Report
With The Energy Of A Million Dust Devils, The Klash Of The Titans Tour Thrashed Phoenix, Arizona
Band Photo: Testament (?)
It’s been a minute since I’ve seen a concert in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I’ve been spending most of my time in Europe these past years and I’ve somewhat assimilated into the European metal culture. One of the things I’ve noticed is that there are some stark differences between the United States and European crowds at shows. For example, with a billing like tonight (Klash Of The Titans Tour with Testament, Kreator and Possessed), it would more than likely be a sold-out show if you matched the venue size (The Van Buren). Second, there would be a line of people going around the block to get into the venue to be on time for the first band to start. I’m not writing this to disparage American metal crowds, I’m simply pointing out the differences. Regardless of my observations, I loved the Klash Of The Titans lineup and I was excited to see every band play tonight.
The Van Buren has the capacity to fit 1,800 rabid and horn throwing metal heads inside. When Possessed started, my guess was that there were just a couple of hundred people milling around and maybe half of those were actually paying attention to them. The Death Metal legends started their set with “Pentagram” from their initial masterpiece, Seven Churches. Covered in a blanket of red light and fog, Jeff Becerra called on the crowd to come closer to the stage. Possessed was allotted a 35-minute set, so I expected their set-list would consist of only the classics, which was fine by me.
I felt that other than those in front headbanging against the security barriers, most of the crowd was aloof. In fact, the only time I saw any sort of life from the rest of the crowd was when the fabled intro for “The Exorcist” started and that was halfway through their set. Jeff Becerra kept egging the crowd on and eventually by the end of their allotted set time, I would say there was some slight improvement. They wrapped up their brief, yet dominant set with “Death Metal.” They were THE Death Metal band on this tour’s roster, so they couldn’t have picked a better finisher. I loved their set, but I was let down with the crowd’s blasé attitude. I’m sure that if it was an actual Death Metal band line-up, things would have been different.
I have a love/hate relationship with Kreator. I used to love Kreator when I was in my teens, but I’m not a fan of what they’ve matured into present time. The 80’s Kreator was raw unadulterated German thrash. There’s a reason why they’re part of the German Big Four, they’re Teutonic titans. They’re still relevant after four decades of metal metamorphoses. That’s where my “hate relationship” comes into play. I hate that they changed their sound to keep up with the contemporary sound of the “metalverse.” I completely respect them as a band, I just can’t stand listening to any of their releases post “Extreme Aggression.”
The crowd increased in girth and decibels by the time Kreator took to the stage, and by their second song, there were some crowd surfers riding towards the front the stage. In fact, the band coaxed the crowd into making a wall of death! The sleepwalking that took place during Possessed’s set was all but distant memory now. Both Possessed and Kreator have been around for just about the same amount of time, but Kreator has put out fifteen full-length studio albums compared to just three from Possessed. Yet, both are legendary, underground favorites. It still bothered me that there wasn’t more love shown for Possessed.
Hey look! It’s a wall of death!
Kreator played for about an hour and fifteen minutes and as much as I enjoyed watching them, I’m disappointed only two songs from their classic 80’s catalog made the cut for tonight’s set-list. Looking around the venue and noticing the amount of white facial hair scattered throughout the crowd, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one disappointed with their song selection.
Tonight’s headliner, Testament, is currently touring in support of their first two releases being remastered and re-released this past summer. If you currently arrived from another planet, or just happen to stumble upon this review by accident while researching what Taylor Swift was wearing at the last Chief’s game, the albums I’m referring to are “The Legacy” and “The New Order.” These albums sounded huge when they were initially released and they sound so much better now that they’ve been remastered.
Waiting for their giant front stage banner printed with the old school Legacy artwork to drop, the buzz from the anxious crowd was palatable. It’s been hot minute since I’ve seen Testament in my hometown, in fact, it’s been over 3 decades. Yes, you read that right. I’ve seen them several times through the years, but just in other cities. Recently, they’ve been showcasing their earlier material and that makes me happy. Let’s be honest, it’s still their best stuff to date.
As I stated earlier, the set-list consisted of mostly material from “The Legacy” and “The New Order.” The lone track of “Native Blood” was the only exception. Right from the get-go, the crowd surfing machine was churning out body after body, one after another towards the stage. I forgot where I was at one point because Phoenix isn’t known for their rambunctious crowds. The only downfall to this was when someone that came over the security barrier slipped and fell face first onto the hard concrete floor. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio noticed it first and got Chuck Billy’s attention and the band paused the current song to check on the guy. After a couple of minutes, he was walking with the assistance of some of the medical staff that were already working at the show. Luckily, there were no other injuries that transpired during the crowd surfing ridden set.
One of hundreds of the crowdsurfers during the night
All in all, I would give the Testament four horns up if I could. They played with vigor and it appeared to me that the band was sincerely having fun on stage. Sometimes you notice bands just plod through their early material, Testament relishes it. I’m hoping that one day that there will be a “Thrash Of The Titans” tour consisting of Testament, Exodus, Forbidden, Death Angel and Vio-Lence. There’s been several mashups of this dream line-up already, but not exactly this one. For now, I’ll be content with tonight’s Klash Of The Titans. Oh, one more thing…Give Possessed more love!
Metal isn’t just a type of music, it’s a lifestyle for Nikos Mixas. In addition to playing guitar for the Phoenix’s own Mosara, he’s a contributing writer for V13 and The Sludgelord. And when he’s taking a break from it all and on vacation, you can almost be certain he’s banging his head at a metal festival somewhere interesting.
